Constructing Scenarios 2
by Sage1988
Summary: Sequel set years later when Starfleet launches a rescue mission for the stranded USS Voyager, how have they faired without Seven and how has the Alpha Quadrant changed with her there? Elements and characters from different areas of Star Trek but rooted in Voyager.


_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Star Trek._

_I was not going to do a sequel to Constructing Scenarios but I was challenged by some people I know to see how it would affect Voyager not to have Seven aboard and what effect Annika would have back in the Alpha Quadrant. _

_Hope you enjoy it..._

_**2376, USS Atlas…**_

The comfortable interior of the brand new _Sovereign-class USS Atlas_ was a boon to its new crew who had become used to less comfortable vessels during the recent Dominion War, even more so for its captain Morgan Bateson who had been used to the cramped and awkward interior of the _USS Bozeman_ until the old _Soyuz-clas_s starship had finally succumbed to age and been forced to retire.

For the female human scientist working in Engineering however it felt claustrophobic.

Annika was acting more like a machine as she went about installing her transwarp drive components into the systems of the _Atlas_, she was trying not think of the fact that she was going to be stuck on this ship for two months or more when she had already spent the last three years in confinement.

Her greatest work, the transwarp drive was what she was most proud of but it had been a chain around her neck once the Changeling crisis had started. Fearful that the Dominion might try to kidnap her and pull the secrets out of her head that would allow them to bypass the Bajoran wormhole and move their ships freely across the galaxy using her drive, Starfleet had taken her into 'protective custody'. Annika could not help but grit her teeth at that phrase, accompanied everywhere she went day and night by ten Starfleet Security Officers even to the bathroom she thought, nearly cringing with embarrassment at the last memory. It only got worst when the war started, she was taken to a bunker underneath San Francisco and effectively held prisoner there to ensure her 'protection'. Annika's bad temper only got worst as she remembered the near three long years she had spent underground with ten Starfleet officers for company, she had got on with them fine but it had been the simple matter of not being able to leave. The bunker had been fully self contained with a full computer complex, replicators and bedrooms but she could only dream of the sun, the moon or a space bigger than twenty feet across as she toiled down there.

That was not to say Starfleet had not kept her busy all that time, oh no Annika thought bitterly they had given her a lot of work to do, making weapons or defensive technologies for the war effort. Weapons, weapons and more weapons were all they wanted and out of sheer boredom and being allowed to speak to her aunt on the comm she had agreed to do it.

Harmonic Vibration Charges, starship anti-proton beam cannons, phased plasma torpedoes, chroniton torpedoes, neutron/tetryon/polaron/anti-proton beam & pulse based weapons, photon and quantum missiles, the regenerative/multiphasic shield matrix and many more with all of her creations seeing widespread use in the war. Not to mention the upgrades to existing weapon and defence systems for starships or handheld.

Creating instruments of death that had not been her dream when getting into science she thought sadly, wondering how the scientists that cracked nuclear fission must have felt when they saw their work turned into a weapon of mass destruction. Her work had killed hundreds of thousands at least and some had even started to call her the 'Da Vinci of Death'.

She put down her tools as that thought crossed her mind, anger growing as she just thought about it. No one who knew her well enough would ever mention that nickname within ear shot, it infuriated her more than being forced to work on weapons for her own basic right to speak to her family. High and mighty Starfleet officers who looked down on her for making weapons that they had used to kill tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in the war, she wanted to throw her tools around in frustration but managed to control herself and finish her work.

"Doctor Hansen." A familiar voice said. "I finished...finished the…installation of the relays you wanted."

"Thank you Reg." Annika said with gratitude, this was one Starfleet officer she could tolerate. Reg Barclay might only be a lieutenant and stammer when he got nervous which was often but he was smarter than most of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and surprisingly insightful and creative.

It was reason she had recruited him, after the war Starfleet largely she suspected in her own ego to keep her sweet had set up a special think tank called the Advanced Research Group with the intention of creating new technologies for the Federation and put her in charge. They were given near limitless resources for their work and already some very interesting projects were in the pipeline or completed already, after she thought with annoyance some initial problems. Starfleet in its 'infinite wisdom' she thought mockingly had assigned rank and file engineers to the group who were often drones that only did what they were told, efficient and quick but they could not innovate to save their lives.

But she had fought and managed to get better people in the end but it now meant that she had a Federation Official and a Starfleet Admiral overseeing their work and auditing them on a monthly basis in compromise. A Xindi Aquatic whose name she could not pronounce and Admiral Leonard James Akaar, it had turned out far better than she had imagined though as the Xindi Aquatic was happy as long as they gave him frequent reports on their progress and Admiral Akaar was not the desk bound dictator she had worried he might be, instead he was quite bright himself and a big supporter of their work helping get some of the best people in the Federation.

Reg was one of the first she had recruited although he was technically assigned to Project Pathfinder. After that she had struck gold with getting the legendary Montgomery Scott who despite being born in another century was one of the most creative and experienced engineers in all of the Federation. He was being officially retired soon so she had gotten him as a civilian and had left him in charge while she were away.

Other members of her team including Miles O'Brien who worked with them part time while he taught at Starfleet Academy, Hannah Bates a theoretical physicist from a genetically engineered colony that had left home to explore the galaxy and Hannah was now dating the next member former Starfleet Captain Benjamin Maxwell. Her recruitment of him had raised a few eye brows as until recently Maxwell had been in prison after going rogue and nearly starting a war with the Cardassians given his belief, quite correctly as it turned out that they were rearming in preparation for war. Hiring a former convict had been a decision she had to fight hard for but he was well worth the effort, as a former captain and a highly decorated and experienced one at that he had insights into problems that they as engineers and scientists had not imagined and in the areas of creating or improving starship design he had experiences they could draw on.

Leah Brahms was the next member of her team and the one that she shared an almost adversarial relationship with at first before it settled into mutual respect, until she had come along Leah had been the top name in propulsion and although she denied it Leah had been jealous but the woman knew warp drives and warp physics better than nearly anyone. She was prideful and did not like anyone criticising her work especially the likes of engineers but after a difficult few weeks she had started to open up and working with them more easily not least Annika suspected due to the death of her husband in the Dominion War and a need for companionship.

Lt Jayla Mircula was their expert on weaponry, an orphaned Orion female she had been raised on Earth and joined Starfleet Security. She had suggested several improvements in weapons design that had caught Annika's attention and she had brought her into the group to deal with tactical aspects of their projects. Recently she had begun dating Reg who had been the envy of Project Pathfinder when he had turned up with a super hot Orion woman on his arm.

Greskrendtregk, a Ktarian ensign in Starfleet was their materials expert and had been anxious to join her and Reg on the _Atlas_ as his wife and daughter were onboard _Voyager_ but he had been forced to stay by their Federation Overseer to continue their recent breakthroughs on manufacturing Neutronium alloys. If they managed to keep up their momentum on that project then hopefully they should be able to produce the metal themselves within two years.

The final two were Professor T'Mar a century old female Vulcan expert in biological sciences and Doctor Thy'lek Endilev an Andorian doctor with decades worth of experience.

All in all they were a cosy little crew and for the first time in her life Annika could say comfortably that she had friends, a small smile coming to her face as she truly felt happy about it. She had grown used to solitude but now she had people to spend time with that apparently liked her and she could talk to about non work related things, while in the bunker she had learnt to cook as an activity that was purely hers and a chance to make something instead of machines of destruction and now she held a dinner every month with her team just to be social. Keiko O'Brien had when she accompanied her husband to the dinners said she was good and from a chef like Keiko that was a high compliment according to Miles.

And it as not just ground breaking new technologies they were working on, oh no Annika thought with a slight smile they had been given access to prohibited data and technology normally off limits to regular scientific programs like salvaged Borg components, recovered Iconian technology, the temporal technology impounded by the Department of Temporal Investigations and the Kalandan outpost discovered by Kirk in the 23rd century. Right now they were making progress in reverse engineering the Ward construction/repair devices from the 22nd century and Aceton Assimilators to drain radiation and turn it into energy instead of the other way around, both of which had great potential.

To be truthful she would really rather stay on Earth with her team to continue their work but so many big names like Admiral Owen Paris and even the President Min Zife had pushed for this mission so she had to go as no one else understood the transwarp technology well enough to fix it if it went wrong. Min Zife the president that had led the Federation during the recent war had wanted it as a PR stunt to boost moral, he had a whole array of events planned for _Voyager's_ return home and it was sure to be a media circus Annika thought with a look of sympathy hoping _Voyager's_ crew were prepared for it.

"Are you done yet? The captain is eager to get this mission underway." A voice sounded which instantly made her frown, turning into a glare as she looked up.

"Yes we have just finished." Annika said her glare making its target nervous and so he swelled up like a puffer fish to make himself look at least to his mind more impressive but failed miserably. Leland T Lynch was the most incompetent Chief Engineer she had ever met, he bounced around one assignment after another but never stayed long enough to be called out on his subpar abilities. His abilities were so limited she and Reg would need to take over Engineering when the drive was in operation. Lynch's brother in law was a Federation functionary which had enabled him to reach this level in his career and with the loss of so many more experienced and capable officers, less capable people like Leland had risen up the ranks so here he was Chief Engineer on a _Sovereign class _ship.

"Captain Bateson, the drive is being brought online now, have your helmsman start making the calculations using the program I installed in the main computer." Annika said, calling the bridge on her comm badge. Lynch looked annoyed at being cut out of the conversation, in his own ego he often used his full name when answering the comm so having this woman treating him like a nuisance to be ignored was grating to say the least. Made worse when Captain Bateson answered her and did not address him at all.

"Understood Doctor Hansen, care to join us on the bridge?" He asked sounding excited at the idea of exploring the Delta Quadrant even if it was only until they found _Voyager_, his enthusiasm brought a smile back to her face as if she had to spend months on this ship it was tolerable with a captain that actually wanted to explore and push the boundaries.

"On my way captain, I'll leave Reg in charge." She said, getting up from her work and turned to Reg. "You have control Reg, and if Leland T Lynch here tells you any different point him to me and the captain." Annika said with a smile which made Reg give an uneasy one back, however nervous he was Reg always did what he thought was right regardless of his own fear and if she heard he was being put down by Lynch then she would come down like a hammer. She was very...protective of her friends.

Seeing Lynch look again outraged but impotent as she left, taking the turbolift to the bridge and exiting into the advanced command centre of the ship. One she had a hand in designing as part of her pre-war work and adjusted a few times since, the officers up here were far more capable than Lynch and Captain Bateson smiled like his officers all of them excited at this mission. After all how many officers got to explore a brand new area of space?

She watched on the view screen as she left Earth for the first time in years and the space field was quickly by the streaks and then the blue-black tunnel of transwarp, Annika's breath caught in her throat as she saw her creation at work and was full of pride in it for the first time in years. Her drive was going to allow the Federation to go and see more of the galaxy than had ever been thought possible and expand their knowledge with so many new worlds. It was that dream that had encouraged her to become a scientist in the first place.

She smiled for another reason though, first her drive would bring a lost ship home.

* * *

_**The Delta Quadrant, Three Months Later…**_

"Thank you Commissioner, may the Gods of Gold fill your vaults with their blessings." Morgan Bateson said to the departing controller of the Myrsani trading colony, giving him the customary bow with his arms crossed across his chest in an X shape and the tradition blessing for good luck and fortune, his crew and Annika doing the same behind him to bid their guest farewell. The Commissioner repeated the action and said with a wide smile on his softly ridged indigo head.

"May you find what you are searching for Captain, I only hope that the information we provided you helps." The Commissioner then vanished in the swirling mass of coloured energy of the transporter. With their guest finally departed they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh I need a sit down." Annika said as she sat down on the transporter pad, desperate to ease her aching feet. It was not the Myrsani custom to sit during official meals or meetings as apparently it was a sign that you were not paying attention so to conduct a problem free first contact they had done the same which meant they had all been standing up for nearly seven hours, she was not alone as the rest of the senior officers took a seat where ever they could to rest their aching feet.

"But at least we finally got a lead on _Voyager_." Lisa Neeley said with a slight smile, the Chief Security officer was glad as her job was the most stressful in these situations. Keeping the ship and crew secure while not upsetting visiting guests, trying to find a balance between the two. In this case it was to keep the Myrsani happy as they had a vast trade network that also provided information and that had at last given them a lead on _Voyager_.

"One that we must act on immediately, bridge..." Captain Bateson said telling his first officer to set course and speed for the sector where _Voyager_ had been only a week ago. If they were quick then they might just catch them.

Annika with her feet still hurting decided to check on the results of her recent finds in the Myrsani colony, as she made her way to her lab she smiled at their journey so far. It had been mercifully quiet except for one attack from a species she believed were called the Hirogen but they had made two first contacts of their own the Kor'Kelan an insectoid race that resembled enormous spiders and the Myrsani. There had been some interesting things learnt but the one that interested her the most was a compound they acquired from the Kor'Kelan, it was a raw paint that they used to decorate their temples and in the light of their three moons it glowed. She had acquired a few samples and determined it had great potential as a catalyst for several systems including deflectors, propulsion and weapons. She was trying to create a more pure synthetic version in the lab to test her theory.

All in all it had not been as bad as she had thought, it had been fun to chart and study some of the anomalies they had encountered and see new places. Annika smiled as she arrived in her lab, apart from Lynch and a few others she got on with the rest of the crew and to her own surprise was enjoying her time here.

* * *

_**USS Voyager, a few days later…**_

The battle klaxon rang in the air as red light pulsed across the bridge, sparks from damaged consoles flew into the air over crewmen as they went about their jobs with frantic determination.

"Report!" In the centre of the chaos Kathryn Janeway sat in her chair, a picture of calm resoluteness in the face of disaster.

"The Devore vessel is coming around for another assault, shields are collapsing, weapons are offline." Tuvok reported from his position, the only one of her crew that did not show any emotion, appropriate for a Vulcan.

"Impulse engines are damaged captain, she's barely responding." Tom Paris said from in front of her. Janeway knowing she needed to get her ship away called engineering.

"B'Elanna, I need warp drive." The voice of her chief engineer was short and stressed, no doubt trying to keep up with the damaged ship systems.

"No can do captain, damage to the nacelles is preventing us from forming a stable warp field."

Janeway gritted her teeth, she was in a bad position and she knew it. Fight on and her entire crew would be killed or surrender and likely they would all spend the rest of their lives in a Devore internment camp. She needed a third option but before she could think of one the youngest member of her senior staff Ensign Harry Kim spoke up.

"Captain there is another vessel approaching at high warp." Harry Kim told her, looking at his console intently.

"More Devore?" Chakotay asked, his own voice determined and staying calm through his experiences on both _Voyager_ and in the Marquis. Harry Kim's eyes however widened and his voice was quieter with surprise.

"No, it has a Starfleet warp signature."

"What?" Janeway said in shock and the rest of the crew all looked at Harry in astonishment.

**-x-**

The _Atlas_ dropped out of warp and immediately opened fire on the Devore vessel with the antiproton cannons newly fitted to the underside of the saucer, smashing into the Devore's shields which were already weakened by the battle with _Voyager_, following up with a barrage of phasers and quantum missiles. Explosions ripped along the skin of the ship, spreading outward as one of the missiles had hit something crucial and the ship was consumed by a powerful explosion.

**-x-**

The senior staff of _Voyager_ looked out of their viewscreen as the other Starfleet vessel came alongside, studying its smooth and dynamic lines with fascination.

"I have never seen a Federation ship like that before." Tom Paris said, his pilot's mind already wondering how a ship like that would handle and what speed she could reach.

"I admit I too am not familiar with that design." Tuvok admitted before looking at his console after making some quick and discrete scans.

"Its _Sovereign-class_." Janeway said in amazement, her crew hooked on her words as she spoke. "They were testing the prototype when we left the Alpha Quadrant, it was supposed to replace the _Galaxy-class_ as Starfleet's primary exploration cruiser and ship of the line."

"Captain we're being hailed." Harry Kim said with anticipation, if a Starfleet ship was here then maybe they had found them a way home. He could feel familiar excitement bubbling up in him at the thought of finally seeing his folks again and all the friends he had left behind.

"On screen." Janeway said her own voice distant as she wondered about the strange ship and what it was doing here.

The viewscreen flickered for a moment before the image of another bridge appeared. In the centre of the rather impressive command centre was a man older than Janeway dressed in a Starfleet uniform but with an air of command and an easy going smile on his face.

"Captain Janeway, you are a hard lady to find." The man said his pips identifying him as a captain like her. "I'm Captain Morgan Bateson of the _USS Atlas_."

"This is an unexpected pleasure…Captain Bateson." Janeway responded, her guard raised although like her crew she was leaning towards hope this time. "If I can ask what is a _Sovereign-class_ ship doing all the way out here?" Bateson continued smiling before telling her.

"Well, that is obvious. We're here to bring _Voyager_ home.".

* * *

As Janeway walked with Chakotay and Tuvok to the transporter room, her anticipation grew with each step she took. She saw her crew passing her all looking excited at the prospect of returning home, as no official announcement had been made yet she could only marvel at how fast gossip travelled on a Starship. Warp 10 Chakotay had once said and in this her first officer was completely right she wanted to laugh but kept that urge in check.

"Does anyone know anything about Captain Bateson?" Chakotay asked, his own worries were about what his Marquis comrades might face upon their return to the Alpha Quadrant. They had been criminals and hunted as such by the Federation and that had been very easy to forget here on _Voyager_ given they were so far away from home but now that might not be the case soon enough.

"He was a 23rd Century Starfleet officer displaced into the 24th Century by a temporal anomaly, despite this he has adapted to his new century and remained a Starfleet officer." Tuvok provided helpfully as they walked.

"I have heard he is a risk taker, a bit reckless and certainly from the same mould as Kirk. Probably why they chose him for this mission. Ensign energize." Janeway added as they walked into the transporter room, standing ready as the transporter operator started the beam over. Three figures simmered into existence on the pad, the older Captain Bateson who greeted them all with an easy going smile that might have almost been a smirk with the confidence it held. The other two figures likewise were familiar to Janeway albeit for different reasons.

One of the much liked engineer that had made communication with Earth possible, she only knew his face from the personnel files but she and the rest of _Voyager_ owed him a great deal...Lieutenant Reginald Barclay. The human male looked nervous and excited at the same time to be there and tried to smile at her and her officers who tried to ease him worries by smiling at him except Tuvok who gave him a nod.

The third member of the trio that had come aboard was someone she had met before albeit briefly just before she and the rest of her crew had been pulled into the Delta Quadrant, Doctor Annika Hansen the inventor of the Transwarp Drive. The woman had hardly changed in the years since although she seemed more relaxed than the uptight person she'd been years before, standing less tightly and more at ease.

"Welcome to _Voyager_." Janeway said with a smile on her face as her guests looked around and stepped off the pad, accepting a handshake from Captain Bateson who gave her a warm grin.

"Good to be here, we have spent nearly three months looking for you after all." Captain Bateson said as he shook her hand before introducing his companions. "Lieutenant Reg Barclay and Doctor Annika Hansen."

"A pleasure, we owe you both a great deal." Janeway said which made Reg look like he was about to faint but Annika stepped forward and said in a calm and level tone.

"It has been a while Captain, though it has been a long road I am sure for us both." Annika told her with a bitter smile which Janeway returned. It had indeed.

**-x-**

Janeway led them to the Briefing Room where the rest of her staff were waiting, she saw Harry Kim immediately stare at the admittedly beautiful Doctor Hansen and only could shake her head quietly boys would be boys it seemed she thought with mirth.

"Well it has taken longer than any of us wanted to get here but finally we have managed a long range mission to the Delta Quadrant, the _Atlas_ is carrying all the components to install a transwarp drive on _Voyager_ that will carry you home." Captain Bateson said with a cheery smile, it was not matched by _Voyager's_ crew who had been waiting for nearly two years for a rescue mission to be sent after first contacting the Federation with the alien communication network only to be disappointed that the war prevented a mission from being sent. They had lost crewmembers in that time and it had been a really bitter pill to swallow.

"Yes once the drive is installed on _Voyager_ we can a series of smaller jumps which will in a few weeks bring us back to the Alpha Quadrant." Annika said coolly, annoyed but used to the staring that she was receiving from one of the senior Voyager crew.

"Are you even sure _Voyager_ can tolerate Transwarp? Has there been any tests into how viable this is?" One of the senior staff asked and they all looked at her in exasperation, not when the chance to get home was so close. Reg Barclay was silent too nervous to speak unless prompted but Annika although she just gave her a look of irritation before said to appease her.

"I take it you are the Chief Engineer, I have worked with my share and the one thing they all have in common is they are very protective of their ships." Annika said with a raised eyebrow, understanding her concerns. "We tested the first drive on the _USS Bellerophon_, another_ Intrepid-class_ Starship like _Voyager_ and while I intend to run some tests before hand there shouldn't be any problems. I will brief you and your engineering team on the technology and what you can expect before we install it." Annika finished trying to reassure the woman who looked ready to continue trying to assert her worries but a glance from the first officer Chakotay stopped the klingon/human engineer from going further.

"How long is it likely to take before we get back to Earth?" The ship's science officer and a minor celebrity back on Earth asked with anxious unease, her silver implants glinted over one eye and on her hand. Lieutenant Riley Frazier, a former Borg who had escaped the Collective not once but twice and joined _Voyager's_ crew.

"A few weeks, although Starfleet has asked for a few stops to be made along the way, no more than a month total." Annika said, not at all put off by the woman's implants after all it was not like the woman had asked to be assimilated.

"Well then, we should get to work." Janeway said now feeling a little more confident that this was not some elaborate trap like when they had met Arturis and the _Dauntless_, but still her unease remained. "I for one think the scholars back home will be interested in all the data we've gained and I for one would like to see home again."

She noticed however there was a brief look of bitter humour at the mention of the Federation's scholars crossing the face of Doctor Hansen and Lieutenant Barclay. As they all filed out she decided to get to the bottom of it and called out.

"Doctor Hansen, may I speak to you in private?"

Annika was surprised but said.

"Of course, Reg you go ahead and see to the transfer of components." Reg nodded and left to follow her orders, leaving only Annika and Janeway in the Briefing Room. Janeway carefully asked her question, not sure she wanted to know what the other woman had found funny about it.

"When I mentioned that Federation scholars would want to see all that we have discovered you seemed amused by that, why?" Janeway asked using her most calm but stern voice. Annika however dealt with high up Federation officials on a daily basis and was not in the least intimidated.

"It is strange to see someone who still thinks that way, there are a few like you that still believe in peaceful exploration but I am afraid the nationalisation of science has taken its toll on the Federation." Annika said with sadness, not liking to remember how things had changed in the last few years.

"Nationalisation of science?" Janeway said with slight horror in her voice, she was a scientist first and foremost and she had always believed that it should be available to everyone, it was knowledge and that should never in her mind be suppressed.

"I am afraid with the damage of the recent war and the effect it has had on the Federation's mindset few science projects get any backing or permission any more unless they have a direct benefit to the Federation beyond expanding the sum of our knowledge. Myself and the A.R.G have the resources we do because we work on developing and improving Federation technology and Starfleet's force potential. The Alpha and Beta Quadrants are very unstable after the war and border conflicts are common especially with the Breen or the Gorn to say nothing of the Tzenkethi, you may find the Federation a little more savage than you remember." Annika warned an increasingly alarmed Janeway.

**-x-**

Hours later as she walked through the corridors of the ship that had been her home for so many years now she composed her log.

_Captain's Log, Star date Supplemental…_

_I wish I could quell the anxiety that strikes me as we prepare to take Voyager home, at first I thought it was just paranoia at being betrayed and destroyed but as preparations continue I am conflicted especially with the words of Doctor Hansen. This has been my life for so long now, am I ready to return to one I left behind or start a new one? Not to mention what will we find when we return? Its a question I cannot answer. _

_So as I walk amongst my crew, I think about all we have experienced together even Riley Frazier who was re-assimilated after the Borg discovered and absorbed the Cooperative and then rescued during our brief alliance with the Borg against Species 8472. Or the three former Borg we found shipwrecked and near death on another planet Lansor, P'Chan and Marika before her. Without them we would never have managed to cross the Mutara class Nebula and they saved us from the Telepathic Pitcher Plant._

_All we have done together and all those we lost. _

_I think of the Caatati, so desperate for help that they tried to force it from us and we were forced to destroy several of their ships before they fled. _

_Of the three crewmembers I lost and those that were injured when I insisted we return the injured member of Species 8472 to its own realm. When they sensed the dying member of their race they attacked both us and the Hirogen who did not soon forget that we denied them their prey and attacked us several times since. As for Species 8472 at the fake Starfleet facility their aggression made us use the nano-probes again to drive them back to their own realm and I worry I might have created a more powerful enemy for the Federation in the future._

_But I fear my biggest error was the one that cost two of our former Borg their lives, while we were trying to steal a transwarp coil the Sphere detected us and only the sacrifice of Lansor and P'Chan beaming over to sabotage the power matrix and destroying the vessel saved us, however deep it stabbed at all of us even with the successful theft of the coil. _

_I feel I let them down, I promised to get them home and I failed and although the crew has never blamed me I cannot help it. So now I must do my best to ensure this opportunity works out for us all._

_End log…_

**-x-**

The briefing room was a tense place to be as Annika tried to brief B'Elanna and a group of her engineers on transwarp and how it worked so they could manage once they started on the journey back home while in engineering Reg directed the rest of the staff to install the necessary technology. Annika was getting frustrated as it took far longer than she had hoped to get them all up to speed.

"So we channel the generated particles through the deflector while at high warp to generate the transwarp corridor." Marla Gilmore said, unsure and trying to follow the insanely complicated mathematics on the display. The engineering she understood but the formulas were beyond anything she had learnt at Starfleet Academy and looking around the room she saw the only one that was managing to keep up was B'Elanna and maybe herself she thought with confusion. They were the highest rated engineers in the room and although they didn't trust her due to her actions as part of the _Equinox's_ crew Marla had been trusted with more important work recently and it was a great relief after banging her head against the wall with the grunt work she had been handling before.

B'Elanna was about to ask a question when they heard a shuffling behind the other door to the Briefing Room, they all looked around as Annika crept quietly over and quickly pressed the door release. The door opened revealing a small blonde haired girl with small cranial ridges who looked rather startled at being caught.

"Naomi what are you doing?" B'Elanna asked looking annoyed at their young spy who looked very much like a terrified rabbit caught in headlights, she opened her mouth to speak and found words had deserted her brain.

Annika however could not help but smile not in the least bit annoyed in fact she was actually amused, she had done the same thing with her parents sometimes spying on them while they were working eager to know more about what they did all the time. She walked over to the girl who she towered over in her heeled shoes and with a mock stern face said.

"Do you know what they say about rules?" She asked acting hard and stern which made the poor girl look ready to run in fright before she smiled and said. "They are made to be broken."

Naomi then smiled herself, feeling better that the tall lady wasn't mad at her. She was surprised however when Doctor Hansen tossed her a tricorder she had at her waist, it was slimmer and more like a pad than the more blocky tricorders the rest of the crew had with a touch pad for control, silver finish and black pads for grip. Naomi looked at it in amazement and then back at Doctor Hansen who gave her a wink, Naomi smiled brightly and ran off eager to show her friends Mezoti, Azan & Rebi her new tricorder not to mention Neelix. Annika watched her go with a smile on her face while the others in the room all looked on in either amusement or surprise.

B'Elanna was stuck between laughing and rebuking the odd doctor deciding to simply tell her with a smirk.

"You know you are never going to get that back right?"

Annika however smiled and said.

"I have others, besides I used to do the same thing to my parents when they working. Its what got me interested in science in the first place." Annika said sitting back down and then feeling they had covered everything asked a question she had been meaning to ask.

"I have been asked by Starfleet to have a look at all the technology you have acquired." She said and B'Elanna while still amused about what had just happened with Naomi decided to get her out of the way for awhile and said with a smirk.

"I'll have someone show you."

**-x-**

While her attempt to get Annika out of her hair was successful and it should have annoyed Annika it didn't as she was shown the Astrometrics Lab by Icheb one of the Borg childrn they had rescues who explained in great detail what it did and how. Annika excitedly took notes as this was far more valuable than _Voyager_ even knew, one problem they had always had with longer jumps at transwarp was navigation. Miscalculations could result in flying into suns or black holes if not done properly and the only way to make sure this didn't happen was to make smaller more plot-able jumps which was far slower and dangerous as if you had to do this in unknown territory who knows what you might be faced with before you could escape. The Astrometrics Lab technology with a few adjustments and improvements would potentially eliminate that problem and allow them to calculate safer and longer jumps not to mention aid charting assignments. She would encourage the rest of Starfleet to incorporate this into their ships straight away.

But also she was impressed at the young man besides her, he clearly had a great deal of intelligence and the wit to use it. He understood concepts fully trained Starfleet officers would struggle with and had a good deal of imagination.

"Have you thought about what you are going to do when _Voyager_ returns to Earth?" She asked as they left the lab and walked to the turbolift. Icheb was a bit confused by the question which she found endearing but he answered all the same.

"I intend to enrol in Starfleet academy, it is my intention to become a Starfleet Captain. I was inspired by reading the logs of James T Kirk during his five year mission on the _Enterprise_ and I feel that Starfleet has lost the type of tenacity he had." Icheb told her quite matter of factly, Annika herself was a bit let down that he intended to pursue Starfleet rather than science alone but agreed with him that Starfleet had lost flexibility and was too wrapped in red tape for its own good. If he could do it without being drummed out of the service she could see him become quite the captain in the future but he might need a little grounding Annika thought and made an offer as they entered the turbolift that might help the lad realise the enormity of what he was taking on.

"You know Montgomery Scott works with me at the A.R.G back on Earth, I could arrange for you to meet him. I am sure he has some tall tales to tell." She said with a smile, knowing she had him when he looked at her with surprise and eagerly said.

"Yes Doctor Hansen...I would like that very much."

Annika kept smiling feeling a genuine liking for the boy before turning to her list and said.

"Right the last thing on the list is a shuttle, the _Delta Flyer_."

**-x-**

The shuttle bay was far smaller than those on the _Atlas_ but that was to be expected on a smaller ship, taking up a lot of the limited space was a shuttle that was already larger than a normal Type 2. She saw its warp coils and she had to admit it was far more efficient than the fragile and smaller Type 2. Able to carry more people and equipment with room to sleep it was sleeker and smaller than a normal _Danube_ or _Yellowstone_ class runabout and could do all the same jobs. It was faster and better armed with a more sturdy hull, you certainly didn't get this sort of thing at Utopia Planitia Shipyards she thought with satisfaction, built by people with a real grounded and experienced idea of what was needed on a ship not someone who sat in an office and had not worked on a starship in years if at all. This was another recommendation she was going to make to Starfleet when they got back, to adopt this design into the actual fleet.

Just as she made a note of that on her pad a young female ensign exited the shuttle with a bright smile on her face as she saw Icheb and said warmly.

**-x-**

"Hello Icheb, want a spin in the _Delta Flyer_?" Ensign Ahni Jetal asked not at all serious and was only teasing, she was rewarded with a smile from Icheb but walked away before he could answer. She was late already but she had been trying to get a little more responsiveness out of the impulse engines in the _Delta Flyer_. It was her baby regardless of what Tom Paris said, she had been there when they had been designing/building it and the Captain had made her its official pilot. She smirked at the horrified look on Tom's face when that had been announced but she had been thrilled and enjoyed nothing more than pushing it to its limits around some asteroid belt or the like.

Her mind went back to when she had nearly died, when she, Harry and the Doctor had been attacked by that alien. She shuddered at the thought as if Marika, P'Chan and Lansor had not been there to keep her alive with their nano-probes while the Doctor treated Harry and then her…it was the closest to death she had ever come.

But she thought the smile coming back to her face, it had given her a lesson in how fragile life was and how you had to seize it with both hands so she had. The doors opened and she saw Harry there to greet her, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, an action he gratefully returned.

**-x-**

In Sickbay meanwhile Riley was getting her weekly check-up from the Doctor, her nervousness at returning home to life that she had never thought would ever be in reach again was daunting. Hell what would her family think of her now? Had they changed while she was away? It was enough to make her very anxious.

The Doctor hummed as he did his scans before folding up his tricorder.

"You are as healthy as you were last week if a bit lacking in energy, I hope you and Ensign Wilkarah are taking my advice and regenerating more often." He said with a suspicious voice which made her look away as he sighed in annoyance, she and Marika had not wanted to regenerate any more than they had too. Their Borg side repulsed them both after all they had gone through.

To think she had actually wanted to join group mind again if just to end the loneliness after being a drone for so long, however the assimilation of the Co-operative had changed all that...the fear...misery...pain as their individuality had been stripped away from them all a second time. All they had done and accomplished washed away and being back to doing the horrible things they had done before. She had been so lucky _Voyager_ had saved her, if not for that then she would still be assimilating and killing as an emotionless drone. It had been enough to make her dedicate herself to this ship and regaining her own life, having Marika, P'Chan and Lansor to talk to had certainly helped given they knew all too well what it had been like and the loss of the latter two had struck her and Marika hard. The Bajoran woman had taken to drinking and was now having to attend counselling sessions with Chakotay every week.

Speaking of which she saw the man himself arrive and she hoped off the bed and embraced him in the middle of Sick Bay, ignoring the Doctor's censoring comment that this was a medical centre not Sandrine's.

The Doctor frowned at their decision to ignore him and decided to go back to his work rather than stand there like some kind of voyeur, he was writing up papers on all the medical discoveries he had made here in the Delta Quadrant. Starfleet Medical was sure to be impressed he thought, he had certainly proved to be more than a simple hologram.

**-x-**

Hours later back on the _Atlas_ in her quarters Annika was reading _Voyager's_ logs to see if there was anything worth investigating; their warp 10 experiment might be useful for probes (to avoid the effects it had on living organisms) if they could figure out how to make it work. Also the Electro-Kinetic storm that had managed to disable a Borg Cube and cut its link with the Collective, she was annoyed that they had not actually witnessed the storm itself but Starfleet had collected a lot of data about such storms in the Alpha Quadrant and how dangerous they could be. She wondered leaning back in her chair if it was possible to actually generate such a storm as a weapon against the Borg when they returned. It was an intriguing idea she thought and might aid them too if they wanted to in future generate nebulas using the same method.

A few other interesting technologies or ideas that they had come across like the holographic decoy system they had used against the Kazon but what really interested her were the modifications made to _Voyager_ so they could maximise efficiency. Torres was certainly an inventive engineer Annika thought and some of these ideas could be applied to the fleet as a whole. And it was not just her Annika thought Marla Gilmore had managed to get the _USS Equinox_ through hell and push it way beyond anything the engineers had envisioned when building the ship, although she was disgusted at what they had done to those creatures she could deny the woman was a gifted engineer.

Both of them would do well in the A.R.G she thought, so she had invited them both here to show just what sort of work they did there. A chime at the door announced their arrival and so she got to her feet and said.

"Enter."

The door opened revealing a very confused looking B'Elanna Torres and Marla Gilmore entered the room, their eyes were immediately drawn to the large screen which showed a starship that neither was familiar with. Its hull geometry was different to other starships they had seen, against the Starfleet norm. Annika smiled that her ploy had gained their attention had worked and explained what it was.

"The Vesta Project, we have been designing a new starship class built especially for Transwarp speed. With its special hull geometry it reduces the stresses on the hull allowing it to travel for longer periods but also at roughly 33% greater velocity. Starfleet is very excited and want it for the next generation of long range explorer with the best sensors and engines you can imagine. If the prototype lives up to expectations Starfleet wants at least ten of them, they just laid down the 'kneel' so to speak on the _USS Vesta_ when we left."

"That's great. Why are we here?" B'Elanna said trying to hide her sudden desire to study the engines of that ship, there was no harm in looking she thought to herself, she would never cheat on _Voyager_ she reassured herself. Marla was no better than her but she didn't have the same loyalty to _Voyager_ as B'Elanna did.

"Because when we get back to Earth I want to offer you both a job at the A.R.G, we work on the cutting edge of technology and science and given that you have both been described by captains as quote 'a maverick genius'. You have made the ships you served on rugged enough to survive anything, you could be a real asset." Annika said with a hopeful smile, both engineers looked surprised but neither said a word so Annika decided to show them a little of what they were doing right now.

"At the moment though we are carrying out the Fleet Upgrade Program for Starfleet, creating plans for refitting all current vessel classes with up to date technology. That includes _Intrepid_ and _Nova_ class ships so your expertise would be invaluable, not to mention the other projects we have on going." Annika said getting excited herself as she showed them the back catalogue of their current and future projects. "If there is a particular project you want to pursue then all you have to do is convince the others to assist. For example Miles is working on a Dominion Long Range Transporter we recovered during the war and he convinced the rest of us to aid him in reverse engineering it."

B'Elanna was very tempted, the chance to work with stuff like this was every engineer's dream but at the same time...it wasn't her. She hated being stuck in a lab, she wanted to be out there so to speak, doing more than just research.

Marla on the other hand had already decided to accept right there and then, _Voyager_ had been a difficult place for her with the crew constantly judging her for not just the _Equinox's_ experiments on the aliens but also their betrayal of _Voyager_. It was only recently that she had started to feel more welcome and not by much as they did not trust he to do any of the major work on the ship, she was a Class 1 Engineer for god's sake and they had her fixing the replicators or grav sleds. She had only been at the meeting on Transwarp because Doctor Hansen had asked for all engineers with a class 1 rating. A fresh start on Earth was just what she really wanted.

**-x-**

Unknown to all of them, a single lieutenant from the _Atlas_ slipped out of the quarters on _Voyager_ that had once belonged to an Ensign Roberta Luke with a datachip in his hand, shaking his head at the contents.

While her loyalty to the organisation had been exceptional and her skill at seduction and playing the 'honey trap' had been remarkable, she had not really been one to really engage her brain before doing something.

Her mission had been to gather Intel on the Marquis so Section 31 could eliminate them, largely by giving it over secretly or leaking it to the Cardassians, nothing more and when the ship had become stranded in the Delta Quadrant it had been a golden opportunity to gather data on potential threats or assets to the Federation in that region in space but apart from gathering a few basic details all she had done was complaining in the privacy of her own secret log that Janeway didn't seem to care about showing aliens the ship's capabilities, trading knowledge for much needed supplies and allowing aliens like Neelix access to the ship. Not anticipating how the impact of their actions might affect the Federation decades or even centuries down the line despite the fact that most of these species were so far from Federation space it would be centuries before any further contact was made. As for showing them what _Voyager_ could do it was just one ship in the end and not even the most powerful ship in the fleet, by the time contact might be made again technology would have evolved and all data the aliens might have would be out of date.

She decided that if a quick way back to the Alpha Quadrant appeared that she would kill the Marquis on the ship, why? Because _'the knowledge these terrorists are obtaining about Voyager and Starfleet will be very damaging'_. He nearly laughed his head off at that but controlled himself, Chakotay had been former Starfleet as had several other members of the terrorists nothing that the Marquis could have learned on _Voyager_ would be that critical. No strategic data would still be in date and all the technological advances were obtainable by other means, it was stupid to risk exposure over that.

That Riley Frazier and the other liberated drones might 'bid their time' to start a Borg takeover within the Federation? That was the stupidest thing he had ever heard, the Borg did not use such tactics since they had no interest in political power and despite recent develops in defence technologies the Borg could overwhelm the Federation with brute force if they so chose too. Frazier and Wilkarah did however pose a great opportunity to gain intelligence on the Borg and her attempts to eliminate them had been ridiculously overblown. Programming the ship's gel packs to kill them and make it look like an accident? That had nearly cost them the ship and there was a chance the organisation's existence might have been exposed to Janeway. They would have to watch her just in case, another black mark against Luke.

His superiors were sure to be uncomfortable with this development when they all got back and it made their attempts to support the work of the A.R.G more crucial than ever, they stole any science and technology that might be useful to them from foreign powers and fed it quietly to the eggheads so they might make something out of it. The data they had kept on the Ward technology from the 22nd Century might soon create a new construction technology that would speed up how fast Starfleet could build ships and equipment and that was only part of what they had been given so far.

Section 31 would make sure the Advanced Research Group got the best resources and data to work with because it's advancements and inventions would make the Federation the dominant power in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

**-x-**

The _Atlas_ and _Voyager_ the next day made their first jump, first to investigate the probable location of the Friendship One probe and recover it if possible and from there...home.

* * *

_Sorry for the abrupt ending but I was written out and could not think any more. _

_This chapter includes a direct quote from Star Trek Voyager Section 31 – Shadow by Dead Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, a great book in my opinion._


End file.
